Dr Tina Bianco-Miotto

I was appointed a Lecturer at the University of Adelaide in 2013, previous to which I held the W Bruce Hall Cancer Council SA Research Fellowship (2009-2012) and a NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellowship (2005-2009). My undergraduate and postgraduate studies have been undertaken at the University of Adelaide, with my PhD awarded in 2002. I have been a University of Adelaide Staff member since 2003. Since 2017 I have been appointed as a Senior Lecturer.

I am currently the Program Coordinator of the Bachelor of Applied Biology and I coordinate the courses: Principles & Practice of Science for App Biology I and Research Skills for Applied Biology II. I am also involved in teaching Foundations of Applied Biology and Nutrition III within the Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science.

My research focus is on epigenetics and I have worked extensively with epigenetic mechanisms and methodologies and contributed to the understanding of the role of DNA methylation in leukaemia, colon, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. More recently, I have focused on how environmental factors, such as diet, may perturb epigenetic modifications which may result in an increased susceptibility to diseases later in life. The focus of current research is to investigate how early life exposure to a high fat diet can impact disease risk later in life, investigations into the role of micronutrients and epigenetics in placental development and pregnancy, and finally the use of DNA methylation as biomarkers for predicting disease.

Dr Bianco-Miotto was appointed a lecturer within the School of Agriculture, Food and Wine in March 2013 and is a member of the Robinson Research Institute, University of Adelaide. Previous to this, Dr Bianco-Miotto was the W Bruce Hall Cancer Council SA Research Fellow (2009-2012) and a NHMRC Peter Doherty Fellow (2005-2009). Dr Bianco-Miotto was a Director of the Australian Society for Medical Research (ASMR) (Nov 2012- Nov 2014) and Convenor of the 2014 Australian Health and Medical Research Congress. As of June 2015 she is the Chairperson and Co-founder of the Epigenetics Consortium of South Australia (EpiCSA) Incorporated. Dr Bianco-Miotto has worked extensively with epigenetic mechanisms and methodologies and has contributed to the understanding of the role of DNA methylation in several different cancers. More recently, she has focused on how environmental factors, such as diet, may perturb epigenetic modifications which may result in an increased susceptibility to diseases later in life. Dr Bianco-Miotto has utilised numerous models in her research from rodent models including transgenic models, to human cells, tissue explants and clinical specimens. Dr Bianco-Miotto is currently working on identifying DNA methylation biomarkers for cancer diagnosis, as well as for predicting pregnancy complications. Her expertise in genetics, epigenetics and molecular biology have been applied to reserach projects ranging from pregnancy to cancer. Her focus is on environmental perturbations and how they contribute to future disease risk.

Bianco-Miotto, T., Chiam, K., Jindal, S., Ryan, N., Zulkifli, S., Moretta, S., . . . Owens, J. (2011). Early Life Exposure to a High Fat Diet Results in Histological and Molecular Changes in the Rat Prostate Which Are Transmitted Paternally to the Second Generation. Poster session presented at the meeting of JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE. CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS.